I thought it’d be fun to write some tips on how to choose your college major since it’s been awhile since I’ve written about school. When I started college, I never thought I would end up in journalism. I began college as an undeclared major because I truly had no idea what I wanted my future career to be. I hope this post helps any who are in the same boat! Let’s get into how to choose your college major.

My Path to Journalism

When I started college, I had a mild interest in psychology, but I wasn’t 100% sure that was the career path for me so I started off school as an undeclared major. My mom and sister are both in the psychology field so I figured I would end up following that career path too. I took my first psychology class during my freshman year of college and I hated it. I’ve always loved writing so I decided to take a journalism class the following semester and something just clicked for me.

To be honest, I didn’t really understand what journalism was before I took my first journalism class. I thought journalism was just reporting on local news. By taking more classes in the journalism school, I learned more about the craft and decided I wanted to go into the public relations branch of journalism. If I never branched out and gave journalism a try, who knows what I would’ve ended up stuck with as a major. I never felt guilty about starting college with an undeclared major, but when I finally declared my journalism major in my sophomore year, I had a clearer path to graduation and this was empowering for me. I’m currently finishing my junior year. I can’t believe next year will be my final year in college!

How to Choose Your College Major:

Explore Classes that Spark Your Interest

This might sound obvious, but sometimes it’s can be scary to explore things you’re actually interested in for fear of failure. Don’t be afraid to take classes you’re even slightly interested in even if it’s outside your major. If you don’t end up enjoying the class, you will learn more about yourself and what you like or don’t like. Learning about yourself is never a waste of time.

Don’t Be Afraid to Change Your Major

I was never one of those people who knew what I wanted to be since I was a kid. I’ve never thought about a “dream job” and I think this enabled me to explore my interests. Many students have an idea of what they want their major to be when they get out of high school and then feel disappointed when they don’t click with those classes in college. I’m really happy I started out college undeclared because I had no clue what I wanted to do for my major. If you declare your major, it’s okay to change it! I know many people who have changed their major several times throughout college and that’s okay! 

Your Major Doesn’t Define You

We have this ideal in Western culture that your job defines you and your personality. It doesn’t! I think of jobs and careers as means to fund my lifestyle, not who I am as a human being. You should be interested in your major and your work, but it doesn’t have to define you. It’s cool to have other interests outside of work and your major. 

They teach us in grade school that whatever we choose as our major is what we’ll be stuck with for the rest of our lives, but who stays the same throughout their lifetime? Growth and change is natural over time. If you hate your job out of college, you always have the ability to change. I think it’s rare for someone to know what they want to do right out of high school. 

I hope these tips help you choose your college major! College students and alumni, what is/was your major?

Other College Topics:

–7 Tips for Success in Online Classes

–4 Reasons Why I’m Living at Home for College 

*I no longer live at home, but I hope the post is still helpful to any who are 🙂

Outfit:

Jumpsuit and sandals were gifted to me by JustFab